Magic of the Angels
by NikhilDoNz
Summary: This is a story by Jacqueline Rayner.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Amy Pond looked at the plastic bowler hat with

a Union Jack pattern. 'You're not really going to

wear that, are you?' she asked the Doctor.

The Doctor smiled and raised the hat

politely. 'Yes. It's cool. So is my T-shirt.'

He was wearing a white T-shirt with the

slogan _My companion went to London and_

_all I got was this lousy T-shirt._

Amy rolled her eyes. 'I can't believe you got

them to print that for you!'

'At least he didn't buy the T-shirt that said _I'm_

_with stupid!,' _said Amy's husband, Rory. 'I

know he would have made me walk next to him

while he was wearing it.'

'Of course I wouldn't,' said the Doctor. 'I

don't think you're stupid at all. Now, come

on, stupid, we're missing the tour!'

The three friends were on the upper deck of

an open-top red London bus. The sun was

beating down, but the Doctor still wore a

tweed jacket over his T-shirt. He was sitting

at the front next to the tour guide. Amy and

Rory sat on the seat behind them.

The tour guide, whose name was Janet, was

trying to talk about London landmarks. The

Doctor was joining in, but his efforts just

seemed to get on Janet's nerves.

'On your left you can see the Tower of

London,' Janet began. 'Building started in the

year 1066.'

'I've been locked up in there five or six

times,' said the Doctor. He pointed towards the

castle. 'If you squint, you can see my room. It's

that window there.'

Janet's microphone picked up the Doctor's

words. The other tourists laughed, but Janet

ignored him.

'There's also a top secret base below the

tower,' said the Doctor.

Amy tapped him on the shoulder before he

could say any more. 'If it's top secret, perhaps

you shouldn't mention it,' she said.

The Doctor nodded. 'Good point.' He mimed

pulling a zip across his mouth.

He kept quiet until they'd crossed the river

and were passing the Globe theatre. 'That's

where I fought some witch monsters,' he said.

'In the old theatre, I mean, not this new one.

The old one was just a little bit to the left. Of

course, Shakespeare helped me fight the

witches. Good old Shakespeare, he was a lovely

man. His breath smelt a bit, but that's not his

fault. There was no toothpaste back then.'

Everyone on the bus apart from Janet began

to giggle. Amy put on large sunglasses and held

her hand over her mouth. It didn't hide the fact

that she was laughing.

'The London Eye was opened in the year

2000,' Janet tried a bit later. The bus was going

along the South Bank.

'Oh yes,' said the Doctor. 'And then the

Nestenes used it as part of their plan to conquer

Earth. You must remember that. There were

shop-window dummies coming to life.'

It was when the Doctor told the tourists about

a pig flying a spaceship into Big Ben that Janet

snapped.

The bus stopped. The other tourists booed as

the Doctor was led off by the driver. Amy and

Rory followed. Amy was laughing, but Rory

was holding up a hand to hide his face. 'I've

never been thrown off a bus before,' he said.

The Doctor looked puzzled. 'I was only

trying to make things a bit more fun.'

Amy tucked her hand through the Doctor's

arm and led him towards an ice-cream van.

'Never mind. We can still do the tourist thing

like you wanted. We'll just have to walk

instead.'

They sat on the bank of the river eating icecream

cones. Boats sailed along the water in

front of them. Children laughed and couples

held hands. 'Mmm,' said Amy, licking a blob of

melting ice cream off the side of her cornet.

'This is perfect.'

'Better than fighting monsters,' Rory added as

he ate the last bite of ice cream. Then he

frowned as he spotted a poster on a wall nearby.

'But it's not quite perfect.'

The Doctor and Amy turned round to see

what he was looking at.

'MISSING since May the sixth. Katie

Henley.'

The photo showed a pretty blonde girl. She

didn't seem much younger than Amy.

It wasn't the first 'MISSING' poster they'd

seen that day. Most of them also showed young

men or women, boys or girls.

The Doctor walked over and put up a hand to

touch the face in the picture. 'So much sadness,'

he said softly. 'The sadness that made her leave

home. The sadness of those left behind.'

Amy joined him. She reached out her hand to

touch his. 'We can't solve every problem,' she

said gently.

'We should be able to!' The Doctor sounded

fierce. 'What's the point of doing what we do if

we can't help everyone?'

'I used to think that too, sometimes,' said

Rory. 'I used to wonder why I became a nurse.

There were so many people I just couldn't help.

In the end I had to accept that helping some

people was better than helping no one.'

'Wise old Rory,' said Amy, smiling. She

linked an arm through his. 'My boys. My boys

who help people.' She linked her other arm

through the Doctor's. 'Come on. We're on

holiday, remember.' The three of them walked

off arm in arm. 'What do you want to do now?'

she asked the Doctor. 'We've been to St Paul's...'

'And we got thrown out of the Whispering

Gallery for shouting,' said Rory.

'They wouldn't let us in to Buckingham

Palace to have tea with the Queen,' said Amy.

The Doctor frowned and pulled a crumpled

paper bag out of his jacket pocket. 'I'd even

brought doughnuts!' he said. 'Her Majesty loves

doughnuts.'

'We were thrown out of Madame Tussaud's

when the Doctor drew on the waxwork of Guy

Fawkes,' said Rory.

'Well, they'd got his moustache wrong,' said

the Doctor. 'Guy was very proud of his

moustache.'

'Now we've been chucked off the open-top

bus tour,' said Amy. 'There can't be many more

things to be thrown out of.'

They were walking along the river as they

talked. The Doctor absent-mindedly took a

doughnut out of the paper bag and bit into it.

Jam squirted all down his chin.

Rory spotted another poster. This one did not

show a missing girl. It was an advert for a

show. 'We've not got thrown out of a theatre

yet,' he pointed out.

'Great idea!' cried the Doctor. 'I love a show.'

He looked at the poster too. 'Sammy Star,

Master of Magic. Lovely!'

'Sammy Star? He sounds like he should be

doing children's parties, not West End shows,'

Amy said.

'Nonsense, it'll be great,' the Doctor told her.

'I love a good magic trick.' He wiped his chin

with a hankie, looking puzzled. 'In fact, I seem

to have made jam magically appear on my

face.'

Rory and Amy looked at each other and

laughed. Still with a puzzled frown on his face,

the Doctor took another doughnut out of the

bag and started to eat it. Rory and Amy laughed

even more.

They crossed the river and wandered through

the streets. Rory and Amy both spotted several

more 'MISSING' notices. Neither of them

pointed out the posters to the Doctor.

They came to Trafalgar Square, and stopped

to look at Nelson's Column. The Doctor patted

the head of one of the huge bronze lions

guarding the base. He pointed out the statues

that stood on plinths at three corners of the

square. The fourth corner also had a plinth, but

it was empty. 'They didn't have enough money

for the last statue,' he told Amy and Rory.

'I'd heard they were showing works of art on

it instead,' said Amy. 'Something new every

year or two.'

The Doctor nodded. 'That's right. I think

they're now looking for something that can stay

on it for good.' He bit into his third doughnut.

'Right. Let's see about getting tickets for the

Sammy Star show!'


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

They were sitting in the front row of the stalls.

Any minute now, the lights would go out and

the show would begin.

Amy flicked through a programme. 'Hey, it

says here Sammy Star used to do children's

parties,' she told the others. 'I know I said he

sounded like he did, but that's weird. He must

be pretty good to go from that to the West End.'

'He was on one of those TV talent contests,'

Rory told her. 'It said so on the poster. _Britain's_

_Got Magic, _something like that.'

'Oh yeah.' Amy turned a page. 'Got all about

it here. Hang on, though, he didn't win it. "He

was laughed off the programme," it says, "but

he had the last laugh. Sammy Star now has a

sell-out West End show. He has won great

acclaim for the Graveyard Ghosts trick that

forms the finale of his act." Wow. The boy's

done good.'

Rory frowned. 'If this show is a sell-out, how

come we got the best seats in the house?'

The Doctor looked slightly sheepish. 'Oh, I

booked our tickets weeks ago. At least, that's

what they told me at the box office just now. So

I'd better make sure I do it. Remind me to pop

back in time and buy them later, will you? The

universe might collapse if I don't.' As if to

distract them, he quickly added, 'Anyone like a

doughnut?' He put his hand in his pocket and

found only an empty paper bag. 'Someone's

nicked my doughnuts!'

Amy leant across and wiped a splodge of jam

off his face. 'You already ate them, you

doughnut!'

The theatre was almost full now. The only

empty seats were in the row behind the Doctor,

Rory and Amy.

'That's odd,' said the Doctor. He looked over

his shoulder at the empty row. 'If they booked

seats that good you'd think they'd be keen to see

the show. Yet they haven't even turned up.'

'Ooh, this might be them,' said Amy, also

looking behind them. A party of elderly people

was coming down the aisle. They were led by a

middle-aged woman in a navy blue blazer with

gold buttons. She ushered her group into the

empty row, telling them to 'Hurry up! Hurry

up!' much too loudly.

Just as the last of the party sat down, the

lights went out. Amy heard someone behind her

draw in their breath sharply.

'Don't worry, Mrs Hooper, it's just the show

starting,' said a cheerful voice.

Amy thought the voice belonged to the blazer

woman. She wondered why so many people

thought being old was the same as being stupid.

The curtain was raised. A spotlight shone

onto the stage. A figure stood in the middle of

it, head bowed. It wore a black top hat and was

wrapped in a cloak.

There was a rumble of drums. A voice from

above said, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, please

welcome Mr Sammy Star!' The drums crashed

more loudly and another, brighter, spotlight

followed a man swinging down from above. As

he reached the cloaked figure, the swinging

man kicked out. The cloak crumpled into a

heap and the audience gasped.

The top hat rolled away as Sammy Star

landed on the stage. He scooped up the hat and

pulled a large white rabbit out of it. Then he

placed the hat on his head.

Everyone clapped as he took a bow.

'Very nice,' said the Doctor, raising his voice

so Amy could hear him over the applause. 'Of

course, he had a second hat with a rabbit in it

waiting ready for him. That's why the stage was

only lit by spotlights, so we wouldn't spot the

hats being swapped.'

Amy glared at him. 'Don't spoil it!' she

hissed.

Amy could have saved her breath. For each

of Sammy Star's tricks, the Doctor announced

how it was done. He wasn't trying to show off,

Amy knew that. Working out the tricks was just

the bit of the show he enjoyed the most.

It was a shame Sammy Star didn't seem to

enjoy it as much. At first he was clearly trying

to ignore the Doctor. Later he started to twitch

and glare at the front row. Amy was quite

relieved when it came to the interval.

'Having fun?' she asked the Doctor as they

sat in their seats at the front.

He nodded happily. 'Oh yes. Although...' A

frown crossed his face and he stood up. 'Back

in a minute. I just want to check out a few

things.'

Amy and Rory sat for a few moments just

holding hands. 'You don't think something's

wrong, do you?' Amy said after a while.

'Nah,' said Rory although he looked worried.

'Just because we've never had a holiday without

monsters or crashing spaceships before...'

'Well, no monsters so far, and we've been

here almost a day!' said Amy.

'Monster!' The shaky voice came from the

row behind. It was a word that Amy and Rory

couldn't ignore. They both spun round.

The speaker was a member of the elderly

party. She looked to be in her eighties, and tears

were trickling down her cheeks.

Amy knelt up on her seat and reached over

the back to hold the old lady's hand. 'Hey, don't

cry,' she said gently. 'What's the matter?'

'Monster,' the woman repeated through her

sobs.

'Lost,' said the elderly lady in the next seat.

Amy turned her gaze on her. She was also

crying. 'So very lost. So lost we were never

found.'

The woman in the blazer stood up. 'Just

ignore them,' she said to Amy. 'Mrs Hooper!

Mrs Collins! Be quiet now! You're getting on

this nice young girl's nerves.'

'Oh no,' Amy replied. '_They're _not getting on

my nerves.' She didn't like to hear people being

spoken to so rudely, when they'd done nothing

to deserve it.

'Well, you're very. kind to say so,' the woman

said. 'She's very kind to say you're not annoying

her!' she told the two old ladies loudly. They

were so keen to come,' she went on, turning

back to Amy. The second they saw the poster

it's been Sammy Star, Sammy Star, day and

night. Now then, Miss Leake, I said to myself,

here's an idea! Wouldn't it be a lovely treat,

taking them to see his show! But they've done

nothing except make a fuss since we got here.

Monsters indeed. Why, they don't know the

meaning of the word!'

'Did you live through the war, Mrs Collins?'

Rory asked softly.

'VE Day...' she whispered back.

He nodded. 'She might have a better idea of

monsters than you think, then,' he told the

woman in the blazer, Miss Leake.

'Everyone all right?' asked the Doctor as he

returned.

'I'm a bit worried, Doctor,' Amy began, but

Miss Leake interrupted her.

'Nothing to worry about at all!' she said. 'We

were just being silly, weren't we, Mrs Collins

and Mrs Hooper?'

'Well, you might have been being silly, I'm

not so sure about them,' muttered Amy under

her breath.

The theatre lights dimmed again. The Doctor

made his way back to his seat. Amy still felt

concerned about the two old ladies, but wasn't

sure what to do. She decided she would tell the

Doctor all about it after the show.

The curtain rose for the second half. The

Doctor didn't talk over the magic this time. He

seemed troubled.

Finally it was time for the big showpiece,

Graveyard Ghosts. Mist swirled across the

stage, which was now covered with gravestones

and statues. Amy shivered to see one that

looked like a stone angel. 'Makes me think of

_you know what_,' she said to the Doctor under

her breath.

Tall trees twisted at the sides of the stage. A

girl poked her head out from behind a tree, then

crept out to the middle of the stage. She was

young and pretty and dressed in a Victorianstyle

white nightgown. Long, dark hair curled

down her back. Suddenly a pale, bony hand

thrust through the turf of a grave.

In the second row of the stalls, Mrs Collins

and Mrs Hooper screamed and screamed and

screamed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The old ladies wouldn't stop screaming. The

show kept going, but there were nervous looks

from the people on stage.

Miss Leake was trying to get the two

screaming women to be quiet. Rory went to

join her, and helped lead Mrs Collins and Mrs

Hooper up the centre aisle. Amy was going to

help, but noticed that the Doctor was sitting

still. His eyes hadn't left the stage.

'Shouldn't we see what's wrong?' she asked.

He shook his head, although his eyes didn't

move. 'Rory will cope. Rory will be perfect. I

need to see this show. I need to see it right to

the end.'

Amy was torn. Go with Rory or stay with the

Doctor? She dithered for a second, then sat

back down. The Doctor was right. Rory would

be fine on his own. He was great with old

people. It sounded like the real action would be

here.

On stage, Sammy Star emerged from his

grave, dressed as a skeletal monster. The mist

cleared. The Doctor and Amy watched as the

monster crept up behind the young girl.

She shrieked and tried to run, but sharp

spikes shot through the stage floor in front of

her. She backed away, but spikes sprang up

behind. The 'monster' began to pluck apples

from a twisted tree and throw them. They stuck,

proving the sharpness of the spikes.

More and more spikes herded the girl

towards the base of the tallest tree. She began to

climb. The bark of the tree fell away, revealing

a spiral walkway. Sammy Star scooped up an

armful of daggers and moved underneath.

The girl was running now. Sammy Star thrust

his daggers up through the walkway, each just

missing the girl's feet. Following her, behind

and below, he rammed home dagger after

dagger. The blades stuck there, pointing

upwards, a dangerous, glittering path.

The girl reached the top of the walkway.

There seemed to be no escape for her. Sammy

Star was still climbing up behind, weaving his

way through the dagger points. Below, the

spikes gleamed.

Finally the girl could go no further. She

turned round and there was the monster, facing

her. He held up a hand and opened it to reveal

an apple. The girl tried backing away, but there

was nowhere to go. Sammy Star threw the

apple...

The apple hit the girl. With a scream she

toppled backwards, falling towards the spikes.

Amy gasped. Everyone in the audience

gasped, except the Doctor.

The very instant the girl began to fall, there

came a blinding flash of light from the stage.

Amy blinked her eyes. When her vision

cleared, she could see that the girl had gone. In

the centre of the spiral, amid the spikes, stood

the angel statue.

The crowd began to applaud loudly. There

were even some cheers and whistles.

Amy didn't clap or cheer. Neither did the

Doctor.

'The angel moved...' Amy whispered.

'Oh yes,' replied the Doctor grimly. 'The

angel moved.'

'So it's...'

'It's a Weeping Angel,' said the Doctor. 'A

stone-cold killer. A lonely assassin.'

As the applause died away, the lights on the

stage faded. There was only one spotlight, and

it was on the Weeping Angel.

'We have to keep looking at it...' said Amy

under her breath, scared. 'If we stop looking at

it, it'll move. It'll get more people.'

The curtain fell.

Amy jumped up, thankful she was in the

front row. She ran to the stage and clambered

onto it. The audience murmured, wondering if

this was part of the act. She scrambled under

the curtain.

Two men were carrying the Angel off stage.

'Hey!' Amy called after them.

'Who are you?' said a voice. Amy spun

around. Sammy Star had come back onto the

stage. He was no longer in his graveyard outfit

and was now wearing a purple suit. 'Look, I'll

sign your programme if you wait at the stage

door, but get out of here now, OK? Time for me

to take a bow.'

'I'm not a fan!' Amy told him. 'I'm trying to

save people's lives! Do you know what that

statue is?'

The Doctor pushed through the curtain. 'Oh,

I'm quite sure he doesn't,' he said. 'He only

knows what it can do. He's just using it.'

Sammy Star stared at them for a moment.

The look on his face scared Amy, it was so

fierce.

'No one is going to ruin this for me,' he

snarled. 'No one. Do you hear me? This is my

moment.' He turned to the side of the stage and

beckoned. Two burly men appeared. 'Throw

them out!' he hissed. 'Make sure they don't set

foot in this theatre again.'

'Time to go!' said the Doctor. He took Amy

by the hand and pulled her to the edge of the

stage. They ducked under the curtain, jumped

down and ran up the centre aisle. The security

men were close behind them.

As the audience began to applaud Sammy

Star's curtain call, the Doctor and Amy made it

to the exit. They raced through the foyer, nearly

knocking over a lady selling _It's Magic! _Tshirts.

'Oooh,' said the Doctor, pausing for a

second.

'You don't need another T-shirt!' Amy yelled,

dragging him to the doors.

The security men didn't chase them once they

were out of the theatre. They just stood in the

doorway looking fierce.

'Yeah, and stay out!' the Doctor shouted at

them, waving his fist in the air. 'Oh, hang on,

might not have got that _quite _right...'

The summer sun was low in the sky now.

Amy and the Doctor walked to Trafalgar

Square and sat at the base of Nelson's Column.

'Weeping Angels can. send people back in

time,' Amy said to the Doctor. 'So when the

falling girl vanished, she must have been

zapped into the past.'

The Doctor nodded. 'Oh yes, it's all been very

carefully planned. A Weeping Angel can't move

if anyone's looking at it. The audience can see it

the whole time. Even if they're not looking

straight at it, it's in everyone's field of vision. In

the corner of their eye. Until the very end. The

light flashing so brightly dazzles them all. The

Angel is free and can move. The nearest target

is the falling girl. It touches her and sends her

into the past. Yum yum, nice bit of time energy

for the Angel, and a nice trick for Sammy Star.

All the people applaud.'

'There's one thing I don't get, though,' said

Amy. 'How does he bring her back? How does

he do the trick night after night?'

The Doctor didn't answer. He got up and

walked over to a lamp post. A poster had been

stuck to the black metal and he pulled it off. He

came back and handed it to Amy without a

word.

'HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GIRL?' she read.

'Kylie Duncan, nineteen. Long dark hair and

green eyes. Last seen wearing blue jeans and a

red T-shirt.' She looked up at the Doctor,

puzzled.

'Have you seen this girl?' he echoed. 'Last

seen wearing a long white nightie.'

Amy's mouth fell open as she stared at the

photo on the poster. That's her! That's the girl

we've just seen vanish!'

'People are worried,' said the Doctor.

'Worried enough to report her missing. I expect

Kylie Duncan's mum is crying herself to sleep

every night. She doesn't know she'll never see

her little girl again. No one from this time will

ever see her again.'

He jumped up and began to walk around the

edge of the square. There were posters every

few metres. 'Molly Crane. Brittany Hughes.

Amber Reynolds. Lauren Peters,' he read as he

ripped them all down. 'Each of these girls has a

mum waiting at home. None of those mums

will ever see their daughters again.' Amy had

rarely heard him sound so angry. 'Sammy Star

doesn't bring his assistants back from the past.

He doesn't have to. There are hundreds of girls

out here, friendless and helpless. They come to

London looking for a new start. Of course

they'll jump at the chance to get into showbiz!'

'Oh no,' whispered Amy. 'You mean... it's a

new girl every night? Every show someone else

gets sent back in time? But it's sold out for

months and months!'

'Then the theatre will have to give everyone

their money back,' said the Doctor grimly.

'Tonight was Sammy Star's last show. His last

show ever.'


	4. Chapter 4

Rory helped walk Mrs Collins and Mrs Hooper back to their minibus. He had an arm round Mrs

Collins and could feel her shaking. Miss Leake

was leading Mrs Hooper.

Miss Leake was in charge of Golden Years

Home for the Elderly. She told Rory this, and a

lot of other things that didn't interest him, as

they walked to the car park. She also kept being

cheerful at the old ladies. 'Now, don't let's be

sillies!' she said. 'It was just a silly old magic

trick, nothing to be scared of. Fancy being

scared of ghosties and ghoulies at your age,

Mrs Collins and Mrs Hooper!'

'Monster...' muttered Mrs Hooper.

'It wasn't a real monster, it was just a young

lad. Like this lad here!' Miss Leake said,

waving a hand at Rory. 'You're not scared of

him, now, are you?'

Rory thought that Sammy Star must be at

least fifteen years older than him. He didn't

mention it, though. It was hard to get a word in

edgeways when Miss Leake was talking.

'Lost,' said Mrs Collins. 'So lost.'

'You're not lost, Mrs Collins! We're in

London – LONDON,' said Miss Leake loudly.

'Now you just need to get on the bus and we'll

take you home. I said, we'll take you BACK

HOME. Back to lovely Golden Years for a cup

of cocoa then beddy-byes.'

Miss Leake unlocked the minibus and Rory

helped the two ladies up the steps. 'Now I'm

going to ask this young man to be very kind,'

said Miss Leake to her charges. 'I'm going to

ask him to stay here with you while I go back

for the others. I hope they've not got up to

mischief while I've been gone!'

She turned to Rory and gave him a would-be

winning smile. 'Now, you don't mind waiting,

do you? I won't be long. I can't leave my girls

alone, though!'

Rory nodded. 'That's fine.'

'There, do you hear that? He says it's fine. It's

FINE. You don't have to worry, because he's a

nurse,' Miss Leake said, with a little giggle in

her voice. 'Oh, they love a male nurse, do my

old dears! Maybe you should be the one to

worry!'

Rory forced a smile onto his face. 'I'm sure

we'll be OK.'

Miss Leake went off, still giggling a little to

herself. Rory shut the door of the minibus, and

sat down on a seat. Mrs Collins and Mrs

Hooper were in the seat behind, and he

swivelled round to talk to them. 'Are you all

right?' he asked.

They nodded slowly. The tears had stopped

falling now, but both old ladies still looked sad.

They had a haunted look, Rory thought, as if

they were thinking of a past tragedy.

They all sat in silence for a while. The two

women were holding hands tightly, clinging to

each other for comfort.

'What was it, Mrs Collins?' Rory asked softly

after a while. 'What's the matter? What scared

you?'

'Kylie,' she said.

Rory just gazed at her in surprise. It seemed a

very odd thing to be scared of.

'Kylie,' she repeated. 'My name. Call me

Kylie. Not Mrs Collins.'

'Amber,' said Mrs Hooper. 'I'm Amber. I'm

not mad.'

'Of course you're not,' said Rory. 'Who says

you are?'

'We have to be careful,' said Mrs Hooper. She

didn't seem to be talking to Rory, her eyes were

looking far away. 'We mustn't tell the truth.

They'll think we're mad.'

'We'll get locked up if we tell the truth,'

added Mrs Collins.

'Is something bad going on?' Rory asked,

worried now. 'Is something bad going on at the

Golden Years home?'

To his relief, Mrs Hooper shook her head.

'Not there,' she said. 'A long time ago. A very

long time ago.'

Mrs Collins nodded fiercely. 'A very long

time ago,' she agreed. 'Today. A very long time

ago today.'

Rory had thought he was getting somewhere,

but that answer made no sense at all.

'It was VE Day,' said Mrs Hooper. 'Victory in

Europe. I didn't know what that meant, then.

We didn't do it at school.'

'They asked me why I was in my nightie,'

said Mrs Collins. 'Why I was walking around in

a daze.'

Mrs Hooper almost smiled. 'I was dazed too.

They said there was a girl like me, a girl who

was confused. They wondered if we knew each

other. That's how we met. We've stuck together

ever since.' She squeezed her friend's hand.

'They said it must have been a bomb,' said

Mrs Collins. 'A bomb must have come down

and hurt our heads. That's why we didn't know

what had happened.'

Mrs Hooper nodded. They said they'd

thought the last Doodlebug had fallen months

ago. People were upset to think there'd been

more bombs. They said it would be the last one,

though. There was peace in Europe at last. We

knew it wasn't a bomb, but we didn't know

what had really happened. So we went along

with it.' She paused. 'We knew there must have

been other girls, but we didn't look for them. It's

not the sort of thing you can ask people.'

'They made us join their party,' said Mrs

Collins. 'It was the biggest party I'd ever seen.

Right there in Trafalgar Square. They were all

so happy. We danced and danced and danced.

We were so scared and so lost, but we danced.'

'I danced with a soldier,' said Mrs Hooper.

'His name was Albert. It was a summer's day

like this when we got married...' Tears began to

fall from her eyes again, and she began to sing.

_'It may be an hour, it may be a week...'_

Mrs Collins lifted her voice and joined in. '_It_

_may be fifty years..._'

Rory felt tears pricking at his eyes too. The

two old ladies were so sad, yet so dignified.

The moment was broken. The door to the

minibus clunked open, and Miss Leake began

helping elderly people up the steps. 'Everything

all right?' she called to Rory, but didn't wait for

an answer. 'I'm sure you've been fine, even with

that cheeky pair! Mrs Collins and Mrs Hooper

are so naughty sometimes. They do play such

jokes. Why, the other day they tried to tell me

they were born in 1993! _1893 _more like, I said,

didn't I, Mrs Hooper? But you will have your

little joke.' She didn't seem to care or even

notice that Mrs Hooper ignored her.

When the old people were seated, Rory got

up and walked down the bus to the door. 'Bye

then,' he said to Miss Leake.

'Goodbye, and thank you so much,' she

replied, sitting herself down in the driver's seat.

'Oh! By the way! You know those friends you

were with? That nice red-haired girl and the

young man in the plastic bowler hat?' Rory

nodded. 'Well, they got thrown out of the

theatre! Awful, isn't it? So I wouldn't go back

there looking for them if I were you.'

Rory sighed and shut the bus door behind

him. Amy and the Doctor had been thrown out

of yet another place. Lucky he still had his

mobile phone. He kept it with him out of habit.

At least in England around his own time it

should work.

As he moved away from the minibus, he

could hear the whole busload of elderly people

joining in the song. '_It may be an hour, it may_

_be a week, it may be fifty years. But I know we_

_will find loving hearts still entwined, on the day_

_we meet again._'

The wartime song always made him think of

Amy. He'd waited nearly 2,000 years for her.

Fifty years was nothing compared to that. The

song told the truth, though. Even after all that

time, their love had still been strong.

Rory smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

They met in Trafalgar Square.

'There was a VE Day party here,' Rory told

the Doctor and Amy as he sat down beside

them. He was still thinking of the two old

ladies, Mrs Collins and Mrs Hooper.

The Doctor nodded. 'Eighth of May, 1945.

Thousands gathered here. Churchill made a

speech and they played it over loudspeakers.'

'Good old Winston,' said Amy. 'What?' she

cried as Rory gave her a look. 'I can namedrop

too! It's not just the Doctor who's been

everywhere and met everyone.'

'I wasn't at the VE Day party,' the Doctor

pointed out. 'I just heard about it from other

people.' He sighed. 'One happy day. One great

big happy day for them all. Then real life got

them again. Japan was still fighting the war.

Everyone had lost loved ones. Homes had been

bombed. There were no bananas.'

'They were there,' said Rory. 'Those two old

ladies. They were at the Trafalgar Square party

on VE Day. Strange to think of it, really. More

than sixty-five years ago. They'd just have been

teenagers, and they were dancing right here.

Maybe on this very spot.' He smiled. 'Poor old

dears. I couldn't really follow what they were

saying. I tell you what was weird, though. They

were called Kylie and Amber. You don't think

of old people being called Kylie or Amber, do

you?'

'Hang on,' said Amy, looking shocked.

'Doctor...'

The Doctor stiffened. For a moment he didn't

say a word, then started leafing through the pile

of posters beside him. He picked out the one he

had shown Amy earlier, and another of a blonde

girl. He held them up so Rory could see them.

MISSING: KYLIE DUNCAN. MISSING:

AMBER REYNOLDS.

Rory frowned. He took the poster of Amber

Reynolds and stared at it. 'I don't understand...'

'That's because you missed the end of the

show,' said Amy. 'We've got a lot to tell you.

Sammy Star is using a Weeping Angel in his

act. It's sending girls back into the past.'

'I think you've just found out where in the

past they're ending up,' the Doctor told Rory.

'One minute they're in a West End theatre in the

twenty-first century...'

'... and the next they're in 1945. At a party in

Trafalgar Square,' finished Rory. 'Oh no.' He

jumped up. 'We've got to go and rescue them!

We know where they are and when they are, so

we can go in the TARDIS!'

The Doctor shook his head. 'We also know

they stay there, in that time. They grow old.'

'We could get them back to their own time!'

Rory cried.

'They get back to their own time,' said the

Doctor. 'They just take the long route. It takes

them about sixty-seven years.' He shook his

head again. 'I'm sorry, Rory. We can't change

that.' He stood up. 'But we can make sure it

doesn't happen to anyone else. Come on, Ponds,

we're going back to the theatre. We've got less

than twenty-four hours to stop Sammy Star.'

The sign above the theatre was still lit up. The

words _Sammy Star's Magic Show! _shone out.

'The city never sleeps!' the Doctor said. He

rattled the theatre doors. They were locked. 'It

seems the people who work here do sleep,

though. Never mind.' He pulled the sonic

screwdriver out of his pocket. 'I have a key.'

The foyer looked haunted in the gloom, more

haunted than the stage graveyard. They crept

across it in silence and went through a door

marked NO ENTRANCE.

'I know the way,' the Doctor whispered. 'I

went for a snoop around during the interval. I

had a feeling something was wrong. My

seventh sense.'

'Don't you mean sixth sense?' asked Rory.

'No,' said the Doctor. 'I already have six wellused

senses. This was my just as well-used but

often ignored Finding Evil sense. Of course all

my senses are finely honed - _ooof.'_

He broke off as he walked straight into a

large security guard.

'What are you doing here?' growled the

guard.

The Doctor fumbled in his pocket and

brought out his psychic paper. 'I've come to

inspect the magic,' he said, holding out the open

wallet. The guard peered at the blank paper,

seeing only what the Doctor wanted him to see.

'Says here you're with the Magic Oval,' he

said.

'Ah yes,' said the Doctor as he brushed

himself down. 'It's like the Magic Circle, only...

stretched. We inspect tricks at night so no one

else finds out how they're done. If you could

just escort us to Sammy Star's prop store, we'll

get on with our checks.'

He made to walk past the guard, but the burly

man put out an arm to stop him. 'Does Mr Star

know about this? He never said you were

coming.'

The Doctor tutted. 'Well, of _course _he doesn't

know. It wouldn't be a random secret magic

check at night if he _knew _about it. You've heard

of secret shoppers? They buy things in shops

and then report back on the service.'

The guard nodded his head.

'Well, we're secret magic-checkers. We check

the tricks then report back to the Magic Oval.'

Amy held her breath. For a moment it looked

like the guard might let them through.

'Well...' he said. Then he paused. 'Hey,

haven't I seen you before?'

The Doctor looked puzzled. 'I don't think so.

I've just got one of those faces.'

'Yes I have!' The man frowned. 'I threw you

out of here an hour ago. I noticed your plastic

bowler hat at the time.'

'Lots of people wear these!' the Doctor said.

'They're cool.'

'No they don't,' muttered Amy under her

breath. 'And no they're not.'

'Yeah, but I also noticed your funny T-shirt

and that you had a red-headed girl with you,'

said the man. 'Come on, you're not fooling me.

You're trying to nick something so you can

cheat in the contest tomorrow. Well, you're out

of luck. Out you go!'

'And stay out!' the Doctor yelled as he landed

on the pavement for the second time that

evening.

'I already have "theatre" on my list of places

we've been thrown out of,' Amy complained.

'We could at least have found somewhere new.'

'Well, look on the bright side,' said the

Doctor. 'At least we were thrown out before we

got to the guard dogs. They looked fierce.'

Amy blinked. 'There were guard dogs?'

'Just a couple. I saw them when I was

scouting around during the interval. Oh, and a

lot of padlocks. Sammy Star really doesn't want

people going through his props.'

'So what do we do now?' asked Rory.

The Doctor didn't answer at once. He looked

deep in thought. 'We've got to find a way of

getting into the prop store,' he said after a

moment.

The others nodded.

'We need to do it before the next show. The

Angel mustn't get any more girls.'

They nodded again.

'Did anyone else hear that guard mention a

contest?'

Amy and Rory nodded again. 'I don't know

what he was talking about, though,' said Amy.

The Doctor jumped up. 'One way to find out!'

He went back over to the theatre. The guard

could still be seen in the foyer, his shadow on

the window. The Doctor found a letterbox in the

main door, and knelt down to it. 'Excuse me!'

he called through the letterbox. 'What contest

were you talking about just then?'

A few seconds later a flyer plopped out onto

the pavement from the other side of the

letterbox. The Doctor picked it up. 'Thank you!'

he called.

He rejoined Amy and Rory. 'Aha!' he said.

'What do you think about this, then?'

Amy took the flyer from him and read it.

'Have you got what it takes? If you think

you're as good as Sammy Star, come to the

Britain's Got Magic try-outs. Show your tricks

to TV judges Austin Hart, Daisy Mead and Bill

Evans. With special guest judge, Sammy Star.'

'So?' said Rory. 'It's a thing for daft people

who want to get on telly.'

'Yes,' agreed the Doctor. 'The thing is,

though, the try-outs are tomorrow, and they're

at this theatre.'

'Right!' Amy got it. 'You mean you're going

to enter?'

'Not quite,' said the Doctor. 'I mean, _we're_

going to enter. Just call us daft people who want

to get on telly. We're just going to rescue a few

damsels in distress at the same time.'


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

The Doctor, Rory and Amy were making

plans.

'We have to go to the try-outs in disguise,' the

Doctor said. 'Sammy Star might spot us. So

might that guard, if he's around. Even if I take

my cool hat off.'

'I'd suggest taking your cool hat off anyway,'

said Amy. 'You know, just in case.'

'I've seen those programmes on TV,' said

Rory. 'People queue up for hours to get in. We'll

have to get there really early in the morning.'

'No, _well _have to get there really early in the

morning,' the Doctor told him.

Rory looked puzzled. 'Er, that's what I said.'

'No,' the Doctor told him. 'You said "we"

meaning you, me and Amy. I said "we"

meaning just me and Amy. I've got another job

for you, Rory.'

He told the others what he had in mind. Rory

would go to the Golden Years Home for the

Elderly. There he'd talk to Kylie Collins and

Amber Hooper and find out all they knew about

Sammy Star. Meanwhile, he and Amy would

disguise themselves and go to the theatre. Once

inside, they'd find out where the Weeping Angel

was being kept.

'What do we do when we find it?' Amy

asked.

'Good question,' said the Doctor. _'Great_

question, in fact.' He stopped.

'So what's the answer to my great question?'

said Amy.

The Doctor looked slightly sheepish. 'Well,

I'm sure I'll have worked out something by

then. We'll have a whole day to sort it out. Rory,

make sure you're back by the evening for the

show.'

'Right,' said Rory. 'You can count on me.'

'Good,' said the Doctor. 'Because I have a

feeling we're going to need all the help we can

get.'

The next morning, Rory caught a tube then a

train and made his way to the Golden Years

Home for the Elderly.

He hadn't been keen on Miss Leake, but was

quite glad when she opened the door. At least

she knew who he was.

'I was, er, just passing,' he said stiffly. He

didn't like telling even little white lies. 'So I

thought I'd pop in and see how Mrs Collins and

Mrs Hooper are today.'

Miss Leake beamed at him. 'Oh, it's the nice

young man from last night! Well now, aren't

you sweet? Come on through, they'll be so

thrilled!'

She led him into a large room. High-backed

chairs were all around the edge, each with a

tiny table next to it. Every chair held an elderly

person, and every table held a cup of tea. A TV

set blared in one corner, but no one was

watching it. They were all staring ahead at

nothing. Although the sun shone brightly, the

French windows onto the garden remained

firmly shut.

'Mrs Hooper! Mrs Collins! I've brought a

visitor for you!' shouted Miss Leake. 'Isn't that

nice? They're very pleased to see you,' she

added to Rory, although they hadn't even

looked at him.

'Er, I'll be OK from here,' Rory said, hoping

to get rid of her. To his relief, she just patted his

hand and left the room.

He went over to the two elderly ladies, who

were sitting next to each other. Not seeing any

spare seats, Rory moved an empty cup and sat

on the table between them. Then he stood up

again. This is silly,' he said. 'Let's go into the

garden.'

Mrs Hooper and Mrs Collins looked as

though he'd suggested bunking off school. For a

second, he saw the cheeky schoolgirls they'd

been once. Of course, if the Doctor was right,

these old ladies had been schoolgirls only a few

months ago.

Rory opened the French windows and helped

the two ladies over the step into the garden.

They all sat down on a little bench by a rose

bed.

'It's lovely out here,' said Rory. 'You ought to

come outside more. Not just sit indoors.'

'There's no point,' said Mrs Hooper dully.

Mrs Collins raised her face to the sun. 'It

makes me think of being young,' she said.

'What happened when you were young?'

asked Rory softly. 'Can you tell me?'

She shut her eyes, letting the sun play on her

eyelids. 'We got lost,' she said.

'Lost,' Mrs Hooper echoed. 'We were so lost.'

'That's what I want you to tell me about,' said

Rory. 'I want to hear about the time you were

lost. It was Sammy Star, wasn't it? It was him

who sent you back in time.'

There was silence. Rory didn't want to rush

them, but after a few seconds asked again. 'Was

it Sammy Star who sent you back in time?'

Mrs Hooper gave a loud gulp. Rory looked at

her, and found to his horror that she was crying.

Both old ladies were crying, huge, choking

sobs. 'Please don't cry!' he said helplessly.

Mrs Collins smiled. In fact, Rory could now

see that they were both smiling through the

tears. He was surprised. 'You're not upset?' he

asked.

'It was real, then...' Mrs Collins whispered. 'It

really happened.'

'We're not mad!' said Mrs Hooper. 'We were

never mad!'

'Of course you're not mad,' said Rory. 'If you

knew some of the things I'd seen... No, you're

really not mad. It really happened, all of it.'

'We had to forget,' Mrs Hooper went on. 'We

could never talk about it. It felt like it was a

dream from long ago.'

'You saw Sammy Star, though,' said Rory.

'Miss Leake said you saw the poster and kept

talking about him. You knew who he was, didn't

you?'

'He was just part of a dream. Someone we

might have seen long ago. Then the dream

came true.'

Rory leant forward. 'Please will you try to

think back? It could really help.'

'So long ago.' Mrs Hooper shook her head. 'It

was so long ago. We had to forget...'

It was long ago for them, Rory knew, but it

was happening right now too. Somehow he had

to get them to recall the past. It might save

some other girl from going through the same

thing.

He had a sudden thought. The MISSING

poster of Amber Reynolds. He didn't think he'd

given it back to the Doctor. Had he folded it up

and put it in his pocket? Yes! There it was. He

pulled out the poster and unfolded it. Then he

handed the paper to Mrs Hooper.

'Amber Reynolds,' he said. 'Was that you?'

She put out a nervous hand but stopped,

seeming too scared to touch the picture.

'Reynolds,' she whispered. 'That was my name

before I married Albert.'

'Think back,' said Rory softly. 'Think back to

who you were then. To what happened to you.'

Mrs Hooper wiped her tears away. Then,

after taking a deep breath, she spoke. 'It was

Max.'

Rory was puzzled. He'd not heard of a Max.

Was this Max in league with Sammy Star?

'What did Max do?' he asked.

She smiled. 'Oh, he was so lovely. He would

run up and give me a great big lick when I

came home from school.'

'Oh, Max was your _dog!' _said Rory in relief

as he figured it out.

'I loved him so much. He was my only friend.

Dad hit me. Mum let him. Max cared, though.

He loved me as much as I loved him. Then...'

'Yes?' Rory asked, as she paused.

'Then my dad sold him. That was the thing

that made me run away. He was my dog and my

friend, and my dad sold him. A stranger came to

the door and offered him loads of money for

Max, and my dad said yes.'

'That's awful,' said Rory.

She nodded. 'I thought I could earn lots of

money in London. Then I could find the

stranger somehow and buy Max back. Instead I

got... lost. I never saw Max again. I hope he

was happy.' Tears ran down her cheeks again

and this time she didn't brush them away.

Rory gave her a few moments with her longago

grief. Then he asked, 'What happened then?

What went on when you got to London?'

She didn't answer. 'Please,' he tried again. 'I

have to know. The Doctor's counting on me to

find out.'

'The Doctor?' said Mrs Hooper at last. 'I think

I met a doctor. Back then. Back in the dream.'

'No,' said Rory. 'This isn't _a _doctor - it's _the_

Doctor. Not someone you see when you're ill.'

'I thought he was mad,' she said, not taking

any notice. 'Him and the red-haired girl. Both

of them, mad.' She sighed. 'They were the last

people I saw before I was lost.'

Rory didn't like the sound of that at all. A

mad doctor and a mad red-headed girl. That just

had to be the Doctor and Amy. That meant that

the young Amber Reynolds was still out there

somewhere. She hadn't been sent back in time

yet.

Whatever the Doctor was up to, it seemed as

though his plan was doomed to fail.

Miss Leake came out into the garden. She

had a folded magazine under one arm and was

carrying a cup. 'I wondered where you were!'

she said. 'All of you out here, now mind you

don't catch the sun.' She handed the cup to

Rory. 'I just knew you'd like a nice cup of tea.'

Rory thanked her, even though he didn't want

a cup of tea

'See, they're fine this morning after a good

night's sleep,' Miss Leake carried on. She didn't

seem to mind that the people she was talking

about were in front of her. Waving the

magazine at the two women, she said, 'Look,

that nice Sammy Star's going to be on TV

soon!' She turned back to Rory. 'They'll enjoy

that. It'll make up for all the silly upset at the

show yesterday.'

Rory didn't agree, but he nodded. He wanted

her to leave so he could find out more from Mrs

Hooper. Then, as she tucked the magazine back

under her arm, he noticed a photo on the open

page. It showed Sammy Star in front of a

gravestone, holding an apple. 'Could I just have

a look at that, please?' he asked, taking it from

her before she could answer.

He read the first few lines. 'Oh no,' he said.

'Now we're really in trouble.'


End file.
